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Sprouts have the power to divide families: much hated by those that had a soggy, bitter, sad version forced upon them in childhood. To the unfortunates I say: give sprouts another chance! When cooked well they are delicious: either sautéed in butter until just tender or in this case roasted at high temperature until charred and nutty. They also pair excellently with everyone’s favourite salty treats like bacon, inspiring this combination with crispy fried bits of chorizo. Buy a good quality chorizo that packs plenty of flavour and cook it until you have concentrated crispy bits of deliciousness! Of course it’s not the healthiest of additions to a vegetable side dish, but keep in mind you only need a small amount and cook most of the fat out of it. It’s a small caloric price to pay to convert sprout haters to this nutritious vegetable!

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Roast Sprouts with Crispy Chorizo

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 4 (as a side)

A scattering of crispy, salty chorizo complements the slightly bitter nuttiness of roasted sprouts to form a simple side to convert any sprout hater!

Ingredients

400g brussel sprouts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

60g chorizo

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Wash the sprouts and trim any excess stems. If you’re lucky enough to get small, young sprouts you can leave them whole, but may want to halve larger sprouts. Keep any leaves that come away while cutting.

Coat the sprouts and leaves with oil and vinegar, then season lightly. Reserve loose leaves to one side. Place sprouts, cut side down where applicable, directly in a roasting pan.

Roast for 10-15 minutes, then add the reserved leaves (these will char into crispy sprout chips!). Continue roasting until the sprouts are tender and charred, about 10 more minutes.

While the sprouts roast, prepare the chorizo. Peel and dice into 5mm cubes. Fry over a high heat to render out fat and caramelise. When cooked, spread on a paper towel to absorb excess fat.

When the sprouts are ready place them in a serving bowl and scatter over the chorizo bits. Serve immediately.